Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-11-10
Washington.
[By DR.. f. B. Robinson.l

The founding of great and Capitol
cities is nearly all connected with a
legend as Rome and the wolf. London
by the Romans and New York by the
Dutch, but Washington was founded
from necessity. The location of Wash
ington history generally conceds was
done by Jefferson and Hamilton
over good dinner and little tom
and Jerry" just to wet their parched
throat. Thus dropped seven years of
discussion with rival states. The
absolute spot was chosen by Washington
and it was at first called Federal City,"
The objections Of all against having the
Capitol on the Potomic was health.
The more one visits the city and
walks over its usually broad avenues
and streets the more gratitude he be-
slows on Maj L'Enfant who plated the
city of magnificent distances" AS is
customary in political life the commits
sioners turned l. Enfant out of office for
what they called better man but pos
terity of this city will remember
L'Enfant with kindness in proportion to
the width of avenues which is very
great He was skillful man and an
original thinker. History records him
Gin green turnout walking across the
fields followed by a brace of hunting
dogs" and also as "a rather seedy,
stylish old man with long green coat
buttoned up to his throat and a bell
crowned hat, little moody and like one
wronged." He lived for years on the
Digges farm near Washington and now
named after the states of the Union
while the streets are either Arabic num-
erals or Roman letters. The Capitol
and library was burned in 1914 by
Admiral Cockburn and Gen Ross. This
wanton de struction cost two million
dollars. The cabinet and President
fed to Virginia for safety.
The first thing noted by visitor in
Washington is that there is plenty of
Room. There is no "crowd poison" to
breath like London, Berlin and New
York. The next observation is the
monstrous sized buildings scattered
widely apart in the city. the buildings
are made of the most substantial and
enduring material and erected and
embellished by the most skillfuI archi-
tects in the world. They are national
government buildings and no money or
skill was spared making them as perfect
as possible. The material is granite,
marble, birthstone, sandstone and
"Potomic marble" which is q kind of
conglomerate stone. The main town of
architecture is Grecian. The Capitol of
the United States has noble and magni-
ficent situation on the brow of Capitol
hill about mile from the Potomic
river. Its beautiful white dome en-
blazoned by the suns reflection can be
seen for miles around. One can see
from this dome on clear day the house
of Robert E. Lee which he called
Arlington Heights" Gen. Lee came
into possession of the estate by marry
ing a daughter of Mr.. Curtis, an adopted
son of Geo. Washington. The govern
ment confiscated the property in 1868,
but congress allowed the Lee family
$4,000 and 200 acres are set aside for
q National cemetery. The house is
built on an eminence 200 feet above the
river, but the romance of history must
not be followed. AS one walks up the
national edifice he observes that it is
built of marble, granite and sandstone,
that it has central building and two
wings. The rotunda in the central
building is SO feet in diameter and $50
feet high. On this rests the dome The
surface under the dome is called the
Canopy and is covered with beautifully
painted figures The rotunda has eight
monstrous sized paintings on its circular
walls. Four of these paintings repre-
sent Revolutionary times and were
executed by Trumbull an officer on Gen.
Washington's staff. They represent the
Declaration of independence, the sur
render of Gen. Burgoyne at Saratoga,
the surrender Of CORVALLIS at York
Town, and Washington's resignation of
command of the army at the conclusion
of peace. The value of those paintings
lies in the fact that they contain many
persons painted from life Leaving the
rotunda one comes to the national hall
of statuary which was the old hall of
representatives.. The hall roof is sup
ported by many columns of varigated
Potomac marble, conglomerate
quarried along the Potomic. Each state
is allowed to furnish only two statues OF
its own citizens in marble or bronze OF
some dead person for the hall. But a
few have yet come. Vermont sends
the most formidable one IN Ethen Allen
1t is of colossal size in marble 1t re-
presents the old hero at the time when
in the name Of the "Great Jehovah and
the continental congress he demanded